


The Stories Cast in the Stars

by stellacanta



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 14:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17789240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellacanta/pseuds/stellacanta
Summary: Erhardt in the midst of battle was a thing of beauty. He was also a force to be reckoned with. (Olberic’s dreams were filled with the battlefield, and in the middle of it all, was Erhardt in his deadly beauty cutting through throngs of enemy soldiers as though he was dancing.)The nightmares would keep him awake at night, and he always ended up taking second watch to escape from them.





	The Stories Cast in the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> There's some blood mention but it's not serious. Still if you're sensitive to blood or serious wounds, please be aware.

              Olberic found himself poking the embers of the dying campfire as his comrades in arms slept soundly, or noisily as some cases may be, around him. The red glow of the dying fire brought to mind another red, the red of an enemy soldier screaming with a mouth full of blood, and he froze at the ghastly image that came to mind. With a shudder he let the stick he was holding drop and he looked upwards to the sky.

              There were patches of clear sky that peeked out from behind thick clouds that spottily dotted the night sky. The moon was a bright crescent that hung brightly in the sky. “Never took you for a stargazer.” Olberic jumped at the voice that appeared from right behind him. He whirled around, ready to attack whoever it was and relaxed only when he saw that it was Erhardt who had spoken. The blonde took a seat at the campfire next to him and looked up at the sky, pointing at a random patch. “See anything interesting up there?”

              Olberic looked up where Erhardt pointed and squinted. “Am I supposed to be seeing anything up there?” All he could make out was a passing cloud and a handful of stars in no discernable pattern.

              Erhardt laughed raucously. Surprisingly, the loud noise wasn’t enough to wake any of their companions. The only indication that someone might have heard was a grunt followed by a loud snore from somewhere to their left. “Not much of a stargazer are you,” his brother-in-arms teased before clasping him roughly on the back. “And here I thought you had spotted a shootin’ star or something.”

              “I don’t make a habit of staring up at the sky, Erhardt,” he said wryly. “I have heard of people seeing patterns in the stars but is it apparent I possess no such talent.”

              “Ah, it’s not talent, Olberic,” Erhardt chided him lightly before looking back up. “It’s just that no one has taught you where to look.” He traced a line of bright stars that seemed to snake through the sky just beneath the moon to prove his point. Idly, Olberic followed his finger to trace the pattern the stars made. “You see that curvy line up there? That’s the great snake that the gods put up there.”

              “The gods put a snake up in the sky?” The idea seemed a bit preposterous to Olberic, but he still sensed a story that was waiting to be told there. (And stories were a good way to pass the time.)

              “They did indeed. You see, back ages ago-“ Olberic spent the rest of the watch listening to the stories behind the constellations as Erhardt traced them out. (His dreams that night were filled with images of the gods waging war against snakes, and dragons, and other beasts that threatened humanity. And, in the midst of it all, was Erhardt sitting by a campfire watching the epic battles rage above him.)


End file.
